Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf clubs. More specifically, the present invention relates to golf clubs having an open cavity to increase forgiveness.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is desirable to have a golf club that is lightweight, while offering a wider sole and a lower center of gravity. Such a golf club would allow novice and average golfers to play shots with more ease and reliability and use clubs more suited for shot.
Various clubs have been designed in an attempt to provide these attributes. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,354, issued on Jul. 4, 1995 (the ""354 patent). The club in the ""354 patent is a crownless golf club having an elongated flange extending from a point on the sole to the striking face. Because of the lightweight face, a composition insert is required to provide low rear weight distribution on the club head to improve the striking quality by reducing the vibration of the metal face and face section.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,242, issued on May 21, 1996, which is a continuation-in-part of the ""354 patent. The crownless club head of the ""242 patent utilizes a composition insert secured to the rim of the striking face section composed of titanium or compression molded titanium alloy plates.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,666, issued on May 5, 1998. This patent provides a club head with a face surface that narrows downwardly toward the sole in conjunction with a sole surface that extends upwardly toward the top wall thereby reducing contact with the turf and limiting drag resistance.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,446, issued on Oct. 31, 2000. This patent provides a mass region running linearly from a lip section extending between the striking surface and the top side of the mass region to a point of farthest reach on the top sole section.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,550, issued on Jun. 6, 1989. This patent is for an iron-type club head having a back wall connected at one end to the sole extending perpendicularly and connected at an opposite striking face at the point of impact.
One aspect of the present invention is a golf club head having a body composed of a metal material. The body has a front wall, a bottom wall extending rearward from a bottom end of the front wall and a top wall extending rearward from a top end of the front wall. The bottom wall extends a greater distance rearward than the top wall. The front wall, the bottom wall and the top wall define an open cavity. The club head has a loft angle of at least 15 degrees and the club head has a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2500 grams centimeter squared.
In one embodiment, the club head is a driver club head having a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2900 grams centimeter squared. In another embodiment, the club head is a fairway wood club head having a loft angle of at least 19 degrees and having a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2900 grams centimeter squared. In yet another embodiment, the club head is an iron club head having a loft angle of at least 29 degrees and having a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2600 grams centimeter squared.
Another aspect of the present invention is a set of golf clubs including a driver, a plurality of fairway woods and a plurality of irons. The driver has a loft angle ranging from 15 degrees to 18 degrees and the driver has a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2900 grams centimeter squared. Each of the plurality of fairway woods has a loft angle ranging from 19 degrees to 30 degrees and each of the fairway woods has a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2900 grams centimeter squared. Each of the plurality of irons has a loft angle ranging from 29 degrees to 60 degrees and each of the irons has a moment of inertia through the Izz axis of the center of gravity of at least 2600 grams centimeter squared.